Surgical access device and seal guard for use therewith

ABSTRACT

A surgical access device including a cannula, a seal, and a seal guard is disclosed. The cannula includes a housing and an elongated portion extending distally from the housing. The seal is disposed at least partially within the housing of the cannula and includes an aperture for sealed reception of a surgical instrument therethrough. The seal guard is disposed at least partially within the housing of the cannula and proximally of the seal. The seal guard is formed from a flat sheet of material and folded into a funnel-like shape.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/744,848 filed Oct. 12, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a surgical access device. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a seal guard for use with a surgical access device.

BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART

Endoscopic and laparoscopic minimally invasive procedures have been used for introducing medical devices inside a patient and for viewing portions of the patient's anatomy. Typically, to view a desired anatomical site, a surgeon may insert a rigid or flexible endoscope inside the patient to render images of the anatomical site. In endoscopic surgical procedures, surgery is performed in any hollow organ or tissue of the body through a small incision. a small opening, or through narrow endoscopic tubes (cannulas) inserted through a small incision or opening in the skin. In laparoscopic procedures, surgical operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions (usually about 0.5 to about 1.5 cm). Laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures often require the surgeon to act on organs, tissues and vessels far removed from the opening.

Typically, a surgical access device includes a cannula and an obturator. The cannula remains in place for use during the laparoscopic procedure, and the obturator includes a tip for penetrating the body cavity. The cannula may include a seal therein (e.g., an instrument seal) to help prevent fluid and gas from entering or exiting the body through the cannula when the obturator or other surgical instrument is inserted therethrough.

Accordingly, it may be helpful to provide seal guards that are configured to help protect seals within a cannula from becoming damaged by a surgical instrument (e.g., an obturator or an endoscope), for example. Additionally, it may be helpful to provide a seal guard that has a sufficiently high strength while having a sufficiently low thickness.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a surgical access device including a cannula, a seal, and a seal guard. The cannula includes a housing and an elongated portion extending distally from the housing. The seal is disposed at least partially within the housing of the cannula and includes an aperture for sealed reception of a surgical instrument therethrough. The seal guard is disposed at least partially within the housing of the cannula and proximally of the seal. The seal guard is formed from a flat sheet of material and folded into a funnel-like shape.

In disclosed embodiments, the flat sheet of material has a thickness of about 0.001 inches.

It is also disclosed that the seal guard includes an aperture defining a star-like shape including five points.

It is further disclosed that a proximal portion of the seal guard includes a lip having at least five sections.

In disclosed embodiments, the seal guard is folded into six segments from the flat sheet of material. At least five segments of the six segments each include fold lines defining four triangles. Further, each of the at least five segments includes fold lines defining a truncated diamond shape. Additionally, the fold lines defining the truncated diamond shape of the at least five segments of the six segments are contiguous with the fold lines defining each triangle of the four triangles.

The present disclosure also relates to a seal guard for use with a surgical access device. The seal guard includes a body portion and an aperture. The body portion includes at least five segments with each segment of the at least five segments forming at least one angle with an adjacent segment. The aperture is defined by at least five points of the body portion. The seal guard is formed from a flat sheet of material folded into a funnel-like shape.

In disclosed embodiments, the flat sheet of material has a thickness of about 0.001 inches.

It is also disclosed that the aperture defines a star-like shape.

It is further disclosed that the body portion includes a lip having at least five sections.

Additionally, it is disclosed that the seal guard is folded into six segments from the flat sheet of material. At least five segments of the six segments each include fold lines defining four triangles. Further, the at least five segments each include fold lines defining a truncated diamond shape. Additionally, the fold lines defining the truncated diamond shape of the at least five segments are contiguous with the fold lines defining each triangle of the four triangles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of surgical access device including a cannula and an obturator;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a seal guard of the present disclosure for use with the cannula of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the seal guard of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the seal guard of FIGS. 2-4 within the cannula of FIG. 1, and with the obturator of FIG. 1 removed for clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the presently disclosed surgical access device and seal guard are described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding elements in each of the several views.

As used herein, the term “distal” refers to that portion of the instrument, or component thereof which is farther from the user while the term “proximal” refers to that portion of the instrument or component thereof which is closer to the user.

Various embodiments of a surgical access device are described herein. Generally, the surgical access device includes a trocar assembly which may be employed during surgery (e.g., laparoscopic surgery) and may, in various embodiments, provide for the sealed access of laparoscopic surgical instruments into an insufflated body cavity, such as the abdominal cavity. As will be described in additional detail below, the trocar assemblies of the present disclosure include a cannula and an obturator insertable therethrough. The cannula and obturator are separate components but are capable of being selectively connected together. For example, the obturator may be inserted into and through the cannula until the handle of the obturator engages, e.g., selectively locks into, a proximal housing of the cannula. In this initial position, the trocar assembly is employed to tunnel through an anatomical structure, e.g., the abdominal wall, either by making a new passage through the structure or by passing through an existing opening through the structure. Once the trocar assembly has tunneled through the anatomical structure, the obturator is removed, leaving the cannula in place in the structure, e.g., in the incision created by the trocar assembly. The proximal housing of the cannula may include seals or valves that prevent the escape of insufflation gases from the body cavity, while also allowing surgical instruments to be inserted into the cavity.

With initial reference to FIG. 1, a surgical access device 100 is shown. Surgical access device 100 generally includes a cannula 200 and an obturator 300. Obturator 300 is selectively insertable through an aperture 210 of cannula 200 and beyond a distal end of cannula 200 to create and/or enlarge an incision in tissue. Obturator 300 is then removed from cannula 200, and cannula 200 remains adjacent tissue to provide entry for additional surgical instruments therethrough. Further details of a surgical access device including a cannula and an obturator are described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,022,149 to Holsten et al., issued on Jul. 17, 2018, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0085145 to Okoniewski et al., filed on Nov. 13, 2017, the entire content of each of which being incorporated by reference herein.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, cannula 200 includes a housing 220 and an elongated portion 250 extending distally from housing 220. Elongated portion 250 of cannula 200 defines a longitudinal axis A-A extending therethrough. Housing 220 includes a proximal housing 230 that is selectively engagable with a distal housing 240. At least one seal is included within housing 220 of cannula 200. For example, an instrument seal or a septum seal 260, and/or a zero-closure seal 270 may be included within housing 200. Septum seal 260 is configured to provide a seal around the perimeter of a surgical instrument inserted through an aperture 262 of septum seal 260. Zero-closure seal 270 helps prevent the escape of insufflation gas when no instrument is present through housing 220.

During use, a distal tip of obturator 300 and/or a distal tip of a surgical device (e.g., an endoscope) inserted through housing 220 may damage septum seal 260 if inserted off-center, for instance. Accordingly, a seal guard 500 (FIGS. 2-5) is positionable proximally of septum seal 260 to help prevent a distal tip of a surgical device, such as an endoscopic surgical stapler for example, from damaging septum seal 260 as the surgical device passes through housing 220. More particularly, seal guard 500 is configured to direct or funnel a distal tip of a surgical instrument towards the longitudinal axis A-A or aperture 262 of septum seal 260 such that damaging septum seal 260 is unlikely.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2-4, seal guard 500 is formed from a flat sheet of material (FIG. 2), and is folded into a funnel-like or frusto-conical shape (FIGS. 3 and 4). For example, seal guard 500 may be made from a flat stock or a flat sheet of a high strength plastic material. It is envisioned that the material is between about 0.0005 inches and about 0.002 inches thick. For instance, the material may be about 0.001 inches thick. Such a relatively small thickness of material can be easier to mold as compared to pre-formed seal guards having a greater thickness. Additionally, seal guard 500 includes a segmented body portion 510 and, in its folded configuration, seal guard 500 defines a central aperture 530. As shown in FIG. 3, aperture 530 defines a star-like shape (e.g., including five points).

In the illustrated embodiment, body portion 510 includes six segments 510 a-510 f, although a body portion 510 including more or fewer than six segments is within the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, at least one segment (e.g., 510 f) may be a different size than the other segments, as shown in FIG. 2. Here, segment 510 f is approximately half of the width of the other segments 510 a-510 e.

Segments 510 a-510 f are configured to be folded in the manner shown in FIG. 2, where the lines within and between segments 510 a-510 f indicate fold lines. While each segment of segments 510 a-510 e includes the following features, only the features of segment 510 a are labeled for clarity. In particular, segment 510 a includes a lower left triangle 512 a, a lower right triangle 514 a, an upper left triangle 516 a, and an upper right triangle 518 a. Lower left triangle 512 a is formed by fold line 513 a, lower right triangle 514 a is formed by fold line 515 a, upper left triangle 516 a is formed by fold line 517 a, and upper right triangle 518 a is formed by fold line 519 a.

Lower triangles 512 a and 514 a meet at a point 520 a and are larger than upper triangles 516 a, 518 a. Upper triangles 516 a, 518 a contact respective lower triangles 512 a, 514 a, and upper triangles 516 a, 518 a do not contact each other. Segments 510 a-510 e also include a truncated diamond shape 522 a, which is contiguous to each triangle 512 a, 514 a, 516 a, 518 a.

Additionally, segments 510 a-510 f may each include an additional fold line 524. Folding along fold line 524 creates a lip 526 and/or defines a perimeter of seal guard 500. When seal guard 500 is in its folded position, lip 526 may define a six-sided shape, or a five-sided shape, for example. In embodiments where lip 526 defines a five-sided shape, one segment (e.g., 510 f) may be fold in front of or behind another segment (e.g., 510 a). Further, the two segments (e.g., 510 a and 510 f) may be secured to each other.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, aperture 530 is generally defined between points 520 of adjacent segments 510 a-510 f, for example, is configured to change shape in response to a surgical instrument being inserted therethrough. For instance, in the absence of a surgical instrument inserted through aperture 530, aperture 530 defines the smallest shape and smallest sized opening. Inserting a surgical instrument through aperture 530 causes aperture 530 to expand or enlarge. That is, for instance, points 520 move away from the longitudinal axis A-A in response to being contacted by a surgical instrument. Additionally, points 520 may be biased toward the longitudinal axis A-A such that point 520 move toward the longitudinal axis A-A after a surgical instrument has been withdrawn therefrom.

The present disclosure also includes methods of making seal guard 500 and/or assembling a surgical access device with seal guard 500. Methods include folding a flat stock of material into a funnel-like shape. Embodiments of the method also include folding the flat stock of material into a hexagonal shape, and positioning seal guard 500 within a housing of a cannula and proximally of septum seal 260, for instance.

While the above description contains many specifics, these specifics should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but merely as illustrations of various embodiments thereof. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of various embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A seal guard for use with a surgical access device, the seal guard comprising: a body portion including at least five segments, each segment of the at least five segments forming at least one angle with an adjacent segment, and each segment of the at least five segments including fold lines defining four triangles; and an aperture defined by at least five points of the body portion; wherein the seal guard is formed from a flat sheet of material folded into a funnel-like shape.
 2. The seal guard according to claim 1, wherein the flat sheet of material has a thickness of about 0.001 inches.
 3. The seal guard according to claim 1, wherein the aperture defines a star-like shape.
 4. The seal guard according to claim 1, wherein the body portion includes a lip having at least five sections.
 5. The seal guard according to claim 1, wherein the seal guard is folded into six segments from the flat sheet of material.
 6. The seal guard according to claim 1, wherein the at least five segments each include fold lines defining a truncated diamond shape.
 7. The seal guard according to claim 6, wherein the fold lines defining the truncated diamond shape of the at least five segments are contiguous with the fold lines defining each triangle of the four triangles.
 8. A seal guard for use with a surgical access device, the seal guard comprising: a body portion including at least five segments, each segment of the at least five segments forming at least one angle with an adjacent segment; and an aperture defined by at least five points of the body portion; wherein the seal guard is formed from a flat sheet of material folded into a funnel-like shape, wherein the flat sheet of material has a thickness of about 0.001 inches.
 9. The seal guard according to claim 8, wherein the aperture defines a star-like shape consisting of ten linear segments.
 10. A seal guard for use with a surgical access device, the seal guard comprising: a body portion including at least five segments, each segment of the at least five segments forming at least one angle with an adjacent segment; and an aperture defined by at least five points of the body portion, and the aperture defining a star-like shape consisting of ten linear segments; wherein the seal guard is formed from a flat sheet of material folded into a funnel-like shape. 